Toothbrush holder



Jam. 16, 1951 5, SPEARS 2,538,337

TOOTHBRUSH HOLDER Filed March 14, 1947 Inventor Patented Jan. 16, 195i is PATENT orrice 2,538,337 TQGTHBRUSHz-EOLDER HarlandS} S'pears, .1;indsay ,,Calif-l nppiieatitniifarcn 14, 194 seriamc, 734,689

1 claim (01. tiein) This invention relatestcan improved con- 'stirnctionof hclder for toothbrushes and: more especially to ahol-der of extremely simple construction to a toothbrush may be quiekly and easily applied or reincved and: which will ef rectrvany turi'ctionto: contain the toothbrush. in

"a sanitary manner and sc a's to preve'nta distortion or thbristles;

More particularly, it is an object or the; in;-

y ention to provide aireadily demountable holder rcr detachably containing-a toothbrush and hav- 1 means to p'ermit the freecirculation or air therethrough for" facilitating the drying of the bristles and while'the toothbrush. is contained by the holder with the bristles in-a normal pe on td'prevent distorting thereof during dry- ,ilnet- Various other objects and advantages of the intention will hereinafter become morefully ap parent frcni the: following description of the drawing, illustrating preferred embodiments "indicatedby thelines 33 and i=4, respectivel eff'Figure 1;? if; Figure 5 lislalsectional view ofione section of the holder :and showin a toothbrush disposed Lfifirih in the course of being removed, therefrom;

:.' Figure eisa longitudinal sectional new oflthe ilcwer portionof .alslightly modified form, at the bottom section of the holder;

Figure '7 is a fragmentary side elevational view, partly in vertical section, illustrating a modified form of the holder, and V Figure 8 is a cross sectional view thereof taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 8--8 of Figure '7.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, and

first with reference to Figures 1 and 2, l0 designates generally a rack including an upright bar H through which one or more driven fastenings l2 loosely extend for securing the rack [0 to a suitable upright supporting surface, not shown, such as a bathroom or lavatory wall. The bar I l is provided adjacent its lower end with an outwardly projecting shelf [3 having one or more openings 14 extending perpendicularly thereprovided with fine perforations 25, as seenin ,Figuresl and 5. The upper section or head 2| hasa rounded bottom 21 which is adapted to fit :snu ly --i-n,- the: fiaredupper end '24- of the sec- -;tion 22 and whichi's provided with a restricted .openi ng Z8 't0"p1 'mit"the passage therethrou gh or the head 29* of .a toothbrush 3'0.

through, fora purpose which will hereinafter become apparent, The upperend of the bar H is: curved outwardly over the shelf l3 to form a hood: i5: a recessedunderside, as indica'ted in. dotted lines at; it and which may form reflectorgfor an ultra-violet ray lamp bulb l1 contained an electric socket is which is connected-tea suitable: source of electric current,

not shown, by the Wiring [9 and which is contai-ned in the: recessedportion I6 of the hood l5 and substantially directly above. the opening. Hi2, altfor a purpose. which will hereinafterbecome apparent. 1

Re'terring to Figures- .1 to 5,, inclusive, a toothbrush holder, designated generally 2!], comprises sanupne'r'oruhead; section 2? and a lower base section 2.2.1 The base section; 22 tapers toward its lower which is; closed except for a phi:-

rality at small perforations 23., The enlarged upper-end of the section Z2terminates in a flared .openvtop 2e which is preferably oval cross section, as seen in Figure 3, but which may be {GH'CUIEIK which will hereinafter become appare The remainder ofthe bottom section 22 maybe circularincross: section, as seen in Fig,- nre; 4, and likewise: may be oval in cross section- The upper" or headssection 2i is preferably oval cross section and is provided with an ex tern' ally convex. upper end or dome 25 which is The opening k i: the; shelf k3 is sized toreadily receive the perforated lower end 23 of the section 22 and the taper of said section is such that it will bind in the opening M, substantially intermediate oi the ends thereof for thereby supporting the holder 20 therein, as illustrated in Figure 1. Accordingly, it will be readily apparent that the holder section 22 may be readily lifted out of the opening Hi and that the shelf i3, by means of said opening M, will afford means for demountably upporting the holder 20 by engagement with the base section 22. The upper section or head 2| seats with its rounded bottom 2'! in the flared open end 24 and be retained thereby in assembled position on the lower section 22; however, the head 2! may be provided with one 01 more spring clips 3! secured at their, upper ends externally thereto and disposed longitudinally thereof for resilient frictional engagement over portions of the outer side of the flared end 24 for providing connecting means between the holder sections. As clearly illustrated in Figure 1, the lower free ends of the clips 3| are flared outwardly sufiiciently to engage externally of the rim or upper edge of the portion 24 to pass thereover when the head 2| is applied to the base section 22.

The opening 28 in the bottom 21 is sized to permit the toothbrush head 29 to pass therethrough by distortion of the bristles thereof and said bristles are sufiiciently rigid to retain the head 29 therein until forceably withdrawn therefrom through the opening 28. The lower or base section 22 is of such a length as to receive the handle of the toothbrush 30 therein when the head 2|, containing thetoothbrush head 29, is applied to the base section 22, as previously described. With holder 20 in its fully assembled position, as seen in Figure 1, the toothbrush 30 contained therein is of such a length that the handle end of the toothbrush will engage the perforated bottom 23 for holding the brush head 29 elevated in the head 2|, as seen in Figure 1, and so that the bristles of the brush head will not be distorted by engagement with the rounded bottom 21.

The perforations 23 and 26 permit a free passage of air through the holder 20 to facilitate drying of the bristles of the head 29 but are sumciently fine to exclude insects and substantially all dirt and impurities from the interior of the Y designated 22a. and wherein the perforated bottom is provided with an axial threaded opening 32 for a feed screw 33 which extends therethrough and the upper end of which turnably engages a false bottom or follower 34 which is adapted to support the handle end of the toothbrush 36.

The screw 33 is provided with a knob 35 on its lower, outer end by means of which it can be manually adjusted for raising and lowering the false bottom or follower 34 for accommodating, toothbrush handles of various lengths and for supporting the brush head thereof correctly positioned in the holder head 2|, as previously described and as illustrated in Figure 1.

Figures 7 and 8 illustrate a slightly modified construction of holder, designated generally 20b and comprising the upper and lower sections 2|b and 22b, respectively, which were shown as being circular in cross section. Section 22b is provided with a circular open flared end 241) for receiving the circular rounded bottom 21?) of the head 2 lb. The head 2|b, above and adjacent its rounded bottom 21b, is provided with an externally disposed circumferentially extending head 36, portions of which are adapted to engage in spring clips 31 which project from the upper edge of the flared end 24b for resiliently and frictionally retaining the holder sections 2 lb and 22b assembled.

Various other modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

A toothbrush holder comprising detachably connected upper and lower holder sections for containing a toothbrush, said upper section having a lower end receivable in the upper end of the lower section and provided with a restricted opening sized to permit the forceable passage of a toothbrush head therethrough, said upper section being sized to loosely contain the toothbrush head, a platform loosely disposed in the lower part of the lower section for supporting the handle end of the toothbrush, the restricted opening of said upper section engaging the neck of the toothbrush handle beneath and adjacent the brush head for cooperating with the platform to support the brush head within the upper section and with its bristles out of contact therewith, and'a feed screw connected to the platform and extending threadedly through the lower end of the lower section for adjustably positioning the platform longitudinally of the holder to accommoda toothbrushes of different lengths.

HARLAND S. SPEARS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PA'IENTS Number Name Date 832,975 Hyde Oct. 9, 1906 1,070,858 Trayne Aug. 19, 1913 1,200,236 Ray et a1 Oct. 3, 1916 1,369,460 Morrison Feb. 22, 1921 1,459,831 Jones June 26, 1923 2,024,692 Kirmss Dec. 1 1935 2,197,066 Brody Apr. 16, 1940 2,394,640 Singer Feb. 12, 1946 

